attack vs defence vs protection

Definitions

noun

1. a decisive manner of beginning a musical tone or phrase
2. intense adverse criticism
3. the onset of a corrosive or destructive process (as by a chemical agent)
4. ideas or actions intended to deal with a problem or situation
5. a sudden occurrence of an uncontrollable condition

verb

1. launch an attack or assault on; begin hostilities or start warfare with
2. take the initiative and go on the offensive
3. begin to injure
4. set to work upon; turn one's energies vigorously to a task
5. attack someone physically or emotionally

Examples

Blackpool Scorpions notched their first away win of the season against a good attacking Leigh team.

So far, only a couple of the trees (literally two) have been found to be successful in fending off beetle attacks, using chemical and physical responses similar to those in lower-elevation tree species, such as lodgepole pine and Douglas fir.

Arguing that FDR provoked the attack was Gore Vidal, novelist, provocateur, T. V. icon, and one of the greatest English-language essayists alive.

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Definitions

noun

1. a defendant's answer or plea denying the truth of the charges against him
2. the defendant and his legal advisors collectively
3. the act of defending someone or something against attack or injury
4. (sports) the team that is trying to prevent the other team from scoring
5. (psychiatry) an unconscious process that tries to reduce the anxiety associated with instinctive desires

Examples

The right back found himself in unfamiliar territory in the opposing penalty area after a swift exchange of passes that opened up Reading's defence.

One could argue that such a missile defence system would bring about the abandonment of ballistic missiles as strategic weapons.

The only defence remaining alive at present is, therefore, I suggest, the disputed decision about qualifying privilege.

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